Optical fiber bundle

ABSTRACT

An optical communication cable bundle is provided. The cable bundle includes a bundle jacket having an inner surface defining a bundle passage and an outer surface defining an exterior surface of the cable bundle, and a plurality of optical fiber subunits located within the bundle passage and surrounded by the bundle jacket, each optical fiber subunit having a subunit jacket defining a subunit passage and a plurality of optical fibers located with the subunit passage. A thickness of the bundle jacket is less than a thickness of each of the subunit jackets and the bundle jacket is extruded tight around the subunit jackets to couple the subunits and the bundle jacket.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 toU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/206,445, filed on Aug. 18, 2015, andis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates generally to optical communication cables andmore particularly to optical communication cables including a bundle ofmultiple optical fiber subunits. Optical communication cables have seenincreased use in a wide variety of electronics and telecommunicationsfields. Optical communication cables contain or surround one or moreoptical communication fibers. The cable provides structure andprotection for the optical fibers within the cable. Bundles ofconnectorized optical fiber subunits may be used to interconnectequipment within a network installation or data center.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the disclosure relates to an optical communicationcable bundle. The optical communication cable bundle includes a bundlejacket. The bundle jacket includes an inner surface defining a bundlepassage and an outer surface defining an exterior surface of the cablebundle. The optical communication cable bundle includes a plurality ofoptical fiber subunits located within the bundle passage and surroundedby the bundle jacket. Each optical fiber subunit includes a subunitjacket defining a subunit passage and a plurality of optical fiberslocated with the subunit passage. A thickness of the bundle jacket isless than a thickness of each of the subunit jackets.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a bundle ofoptical fibers. The bundle of optical fibers includes an outermostbundle layer including an inner surface defining a bundle passage and anouter surface defining an exterior surface of the bundle. The outermostbundle layer is formed from a first polymer material. The bundle ofoptical fibers includes a plurality of optical fiber subunits locatedwithin the bundle passage and surrounded by the outermost bundle layer.Each optical fiber subunit includes a subunit jacket defining a subunitpassage, and the subunit jacket is formed from a second polymer materialdifferent from the first polymer material. Each optical fiber subunitincludes a plurality of optical fibers located with the subunit passage.Each subunit jacket has a tensile strength and a tear strength, and theoutermost bundle layer has a tensile strength and a tear strength. Thetensile strength of the outermost bundle layer is less than the tensilestrength of the subunit jacket, and the tear strength of the outermostbundle layer is less than the tear strength of the subunit jacket.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to an opticalcommunication cable bundle. The optical communication cable bundleincludes a bundle jacket including an outer surface defining an exteriorsurface of the cable bundle. The bundle jacket is formed from a firstextrudable polymer material. The optical communication cable bundleincludes a plurality of optical fiber subunits surrounded by the bundlejacket. Each optical fiber subunit includes a subunit jacket, and thesubunit jacket is formed from a second extrudable polymer materialdifferent from the first polymer material. Each optical fiber subunitincludes at least one optical fibers surrounded by the subunit jacket.The second polymer material includes a fire resistant material, and thefirst material has an oxygen limiting index less than an oxygen limitingindex of the second material.

In accordance with yet other aspects of the present disclosure, anoptical communication cable bundle includes a bundle jacket having aninner surface defining a bundle passage and an outer surface defining anexterior surface of the cable bundle, and a plurality of optical fibersubunits located within the bundle passage and surrounded by the bundlejacket, each optical fiber subunit having a subunit jacket defining asubunit passage and a plurality of optical fibers located with thesubunit passage. A thickness of the bundle jacket is less than athickness of each of the subunit jackets and the bundle jacket isextruded tight around the subunit jackets to couple the subunits and thebundle jacket.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription that follows, and in part will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing theembodiments as described in the written description and claims hereof,as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are merely exemplary, and areintended to provide an overview or framework to understand the natureand character of the claims.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiment(s), andtogether with the description serve to explain principles and theoperation of the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bundle of optical fiber subunitsshowing access to the optical fiber subunits according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the bundle of FIG. 1 according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bundle of FIG. 1 followingconnectorization according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a bundle of optical fiber subunitsshowing a bundle jacket drawn tight around the optical fiber subunits,in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring generally to the figures, various embodiments of an opticalcommunication cable bundle (e.g., a bundle of optical fiber carryingcomponents, a bundle of optical fiber subunits, etc.) are shown. Ingeneral, the cable bundle embodiments disclosed herein are configured tosupport a large number of optical fibers within a relatively smallcross-sectional area while at the same time allowing for easy access tothe optical fibers for routing and connectorization as needed. Invarious embodiments, the cable bundle includes a relatively thin andflexible bundle jacket that surrounds and holds together a plurality ofoptical fiber subunits. The bundle jacket is pinchable or tearable byhand so that the optical fiber subunits are easily accessible withoutthe need for specialized structures (e.g., ripcords) or tools to openthe bundle jacket. Each optical fiber subunit includes a subunit jacketsurrounding one or more optical fiber. In contrast to the outer bundlejacket, the subunit jacket is relatively strong and provides protectionto the optical fibers once the bundle jacket is opened to access theoptical fiber subunits.

In certain embodiments, this arrangement in which the outermost layer ofthe optical fiber cable bundle is relatively weak and flexible comparedto interior layers, is provided by utilizing an extrudable, flexiblematerial for the bundle jacket that may be extruded at relatively lowthicknesses such that the final bundle jacket is easy to open by hand.In contrast to certain optical fiber cable bundles that utilize an outerlayer of mesh material, the optical cable bundles discussed herein maybe made at relatively high line speeds provided by extrusion of theouter layer.

In specific embodiments, the contrasting physical characteristics of theinner and outer layers of the optical fibers discussed herein areprovided by utilizing different materials with different fire resistantcharacteristics for the bundle jacket and the subunit jacket. Forexample, in one embodiment, the bundle jacket is formed from a polymermaterial that does not include the highly filled, fire resistantadditives common in many cable jacket outer layers, and the lack ofthese components allows the bundle jacket to be more flexible ascompared to materials that include such additives. In contrast, in suchembodiments, the subunit jackets are formed from a polymer material thatincludes fire resistant additives. Thus, in these embodiments, it is thematerial of the subunit jackets that provides fire resistance to thebundle, rather than the outermost layer providing fire resistance to thebundle. In various embodiments, this arrangement of fire resistantmaterial provides an optical fiber bundle that passes various firerating tests (e.g., the plenum burn test, the riser burn test, etc.)despite supporting a large number of optical fibers (e.g., 64 opticalfibers, 92 optical fibers, 144 optical fibers, 192 fibers, etc.) whileat the same time providing a thin, flexible and easily openable outerbundle layer having a relatively small outer diameter.

In various embodiments, the optical fiber bundle may be used todistribute fibers within a network data center. In some embodiments, theoptical fiber bundles discussed herein provide a “plug and play”solution for distributing fibers in a network data center, and in theseembodiments, one or more subunits may have an optical connector locatedat the end of the subunit for communicably connecting the optical fibersof the subunit to network data center equipment. In various embodiments,the easy, “no tool access” provided by the bundle jacket in combinationwith the compact optical fiber bundle provided by the low bundle jacketthickness, provides for an optical fiber bundle that useful in modernnetwork installations. In particular, the small total size of the bundleallows the network operator to distribute a large number of fibersthroughout the data center allowing a large number of fibers to fitwithin data center equipment such as cable trays. In addition, the easyaccess to the subunits allows the network operator to access, distributeand connect particular optical fiber subunits to data center equipmentwithout the use of tools or specialized cable structures to open thebundle jacket.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an optical communication cable bundle orbundle of optical fibers, shown as bundle 10, is shown according to anexemplary embodiment. Bundle 10 includes an outermost bundle layer,shown as a bundle jacket 12, having an inner surface 14 that defines abundle passage, shown as central channel 16, and bundle jacket 12includes an exterior surface 18 that defines an exterior surface ofbundle 10. As will be generally understood, inner surface 14 of bundlejacket 12 defines an internal area or region within which the variouscable components discussed below are located.

In various embodiments, bundle 10 is a high density optical fiber cablethat includes a large number of optical fibers in a cable with arelatively low cross-sectional area. In such embodiments, bundle 10includes a plurality of optical fiber subunits, shown as optical fibersubunits 20. Each subunit 20 includes a subunit jacket, shown as subunitjacket 22, having an inner surface 24 defining a subunit passage or bore26. A plurality of individual, elongate optical transmission elements,shown as optical fibers 28 are located within bore 26 of each subunit20. In various embodiments, bundle jacket 12 may be colored and/orprinted to identify the subunits 20 and/or optical fibers 28 locatedwithin bundle jacket 12.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, bundle 10 may include a number ofsubunits 20. In various embodiments, bundle 10 may include at least foursubunits 20, and each subunit 20 includes at least eight optical fibers28. In the embodiment shown, bundle 10 includes a central group of threesubunits 20 and an outer group of nine subunits 20 surrounding the innergroup of three subunits. In various embodiments, bundle 10 may includeany number of subunits 20 as may be desired for particular applications.In various embodiments, bundle 10 includes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 14, 16,20, etc. subunits 20 surrounded by bundle jacket 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, each subunit 20 of bundle 10 issubstantially the same as the other subunits 20 of bundle 10. In thespecific embodiment shown, each subunit 20 includes eight optical fibers28 and has a subunit jacket 22 that is substantially the same (e.g.,same thickness and same material) as the other subunit jackets 22. Inanother embodiment, subunits 20 may each include twelve optical fibers28. In various embodiments, each subunit 20 may include any number ofoptical fibers 28 as needed for a particular application. For example inother embodiments, each subunit 20 may include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,16, 20, 24, 28, 32, etc. optical fibers 28.

In other embodiments, bundle 10 may include multiple different subunittypes or arrangements such that differently configured subunits 20 arelocated within a single bundle jacket 12. In such embodiments, at leastone subunit 20 is different from at least one other subunit 20. Forexample, at least one subunit 20 may include more or less optical fibers28 than at least one other subunit 20. As another example, at least onesubunit 20 may include a subunit jacket 22 that is different (e.g.,thicker, thinner, made from a different material, different size,different shape, etc.) than at least one other subunit jacket 22 of oneother subunit 20.

In addition, while the embodiments discussed herein primarily relate tooptical fiber bundles having a bundle jacket surrounding separate orungrouped subunits 20. In various embodiments, two or more subunits 20may be surrounded by an intermediate sheath or layer that acts to hold asubgroup of subunits 20 together within bundle jacket 12.

In addition, bundle 10 may include various other cable structures orcomponents that may be desirable for a particular application. Forexample, bundle 10 may include one or more binder, shown as binder yarn30, that surrounds and helps hold together subunits 20 within bundlejacket 12. In addition, bundle 10 may include various water blockingmaterials such as water blocking powders, tapes or yarn strands. Bundle10 may also include one or more tensile strength element, such aselongate metal rods, glass reinforced plastic rods or aramid yarnstrands. In one embodiment, each subunit 20 includes at least one aramidyarn strand located within subunit passage 26, and in certainembodiments, bundle 10 includes no tensile strength strands located inchannel 16 outside of subunits 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, bundle 10 is configured to allow bundle jacket 12 tobe split open such that optical fiber subunits 20 can be accessed androuted, as needed, independently of each other. In various embodiments,bundle jacket 12 is configured to allow the user to open bundle jacket12 by hand, and in specific embodiments, bundle jacket 12 is “pinchable”such that a pinching action is able to collapse and tear bundle jacket12 open. Further, subunit jackets 22 provide sufficient structure toprotect optical fibers 28 following splitting of bundle jacket 12. Invarious embodiments, the materials and/or geometry of bundle jacket 12and of subunit jacket 22 are selected or configured to provide thevarious functionalities described herein.

In various embodiments, bundle jacket 12 and subunit jacket 22 areconfigured differently from each other in order to provide thecombination of the easy to open outer layer of bundle jacket 12 and theprotective inner layer of subunit jacket 22. For example, in variousembodiments, bundle jacket 12 has a thickness in the radial direction,shown as T1, and subunit jacket 22 has a thickness in the radialdirection, shown as T2. As shown in FIG. 2, T1 is less than T2. T1 isselected such that bundle jacket 12 can be opened by hand, and T2 isselected to provide sufficient protection to optical fibers 28 followingopening of bundle jacket 12.

In specific embodiments, T1 is less than 70% of T2, specifically is lessthan 60% of T2 and more specifically is less than 50% of T2. In specificembodiments, T1 is between 0.05 mm and 0.35 mm, and more specifically isbetween 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm. In such embodiments, T2 is between 0.25 mmand 0.5 mm, specifically is between 0.25 mm and 0.35 mm and morespecifically is about 0.3 mm (e.g., 0.3 mm plus or minus 0.01 mm). Thus,in contrast to many optical cable designs in which the outermost cablejacket layer is the thickest jacket layer in the cable, optical fiberbundle 10 has an outermost polymer layer that is substantially thinnerthan the inner polymer layers of the optical fiber subunits. In suchembodiments, the low thickness of bundle jacket 12 provides an opticalcommunications bundle in which the outermost layer does notsignificantly contribute to burn performance.

In various embodiments, the low thickness of bundle jacket 12 providesan optical communications bundle in which the maximum outer dimension ofbundle jacket 12 is smaller than is typically needed to provide a cablewith a similarly large number of optical fibers. In various embodiments,each subunit 20 has an outer diameter of about 2 mm, and in a specificembodiment, bundle 10 includes 16 subunits each including twelve opticalfibers 28. In this embodiment utilizing thin bundle jacket 12, the totalmaximum outer diameter of bundle 10 is between 8 mm and 14 mm and morespecifically is between 9 mm and 10 mm.

Further, bundle jacket 12 and subunit jacket 22 each may be configured(either through the differential thickness, or through formation fromdifferent materials having different physical properties) to eachprovide different degrees of strength or breakage resistance to bundle10. For example, as noted above, bundle jacket 12 is relatively easy toopen by hand to allow easy access to subunits 20, and subunit jackets 22may be difficult to open hand, providing protection to optical fibers28. In specific embodiments, each subunit jacket 22 has a tensilestrength and a tear strength, and bundle jacket 12 has a tensilestrength and a tear strength. In such embodiments, the tensile strengthof bundle jacket 12 is less than the tensile strength of at least onesubunit jacket 22. In a specific embodiment, the tensile strength ofbundle jacket 12 is less than the tensile strength of each of subunitjackets 22 of bundle 10. In addition, in various embodiments, the tearstrength of bundle jacket 12 is less than the tear strength of at leastone subunit jacket 22. In a specific embodiment, the tear strength ofbundle jacket 12 is less than the tear strength of each of subunitjackets 22 of bundle 10.

In various embodiments, the tensile strength of bundle jacket 12 is lessthan 2000 psi, specifically is less than 1800 psi and more specificallyis about 1750 psi (e.g., 1750 psi plus or minus 1 percent). In some suchembodiments, the tensile strength of bundle jacket 12 is greater than500 psi and more specifically is greater than 1000 psi. In addition, invarious embodiments, the tensile strength of subunit jacket 22 is morethan 2200 psi, specifically is more than 2400 psi, and more specificallyis about 2500 psi (e.g., 2500 psi plus or minus 1 percent). In some suchembodiments, the tensile strength of subunit jacket 12 is less than 4000psi and more specifically is less than 3000 psi. In various embodiments,the tensile strength of bundle jacket 12 is less than 80% of the tensilestrength of subunit jacket 22, specifically is less than 75% of thetensile strength of subunit jacket 22, and more specifically is about70% (e.g., 70% plus or minus 5%) of the tensile strength of subunitjacket 22. In certain embodiments, bundle jacket 12 has low elongationof less than 300 percent. In various embodiments, the tear strengthsdiscussed herein are determined using ASTM D624, and the tensilestrengths and elongation percentages are determined using ASTM D638.

Further, in various embodiments, bundle jacket 12 applies a relativelylow, inward, radially-directed force onto subunits 20 that is sufficientto hold subunits 20 together in bundle 10. However, in a specificembodiment, the relatively low, inward, radially-directed force providedby bundle jacket 12 is not sufficient to hold subunits 20 in fixedpositions relative to each other within bundle jacket 12. For example,in various embodiments, subunits 20 are unstranded (e.g., subunits 20extend in a relatively straight line between opposing ends of bundlejacket 12). Thus, in these embodiments, bundle jacket 12 is differentfrom cable designs that utilize an extruded binder layer to hold thecomponents of stranded cable (e.g., an SZ-stranded cable) in place.

In addition to providing differential strength and having differentialthicknesses, the materials selected for bundle jacket 12 and subunitjacket 22 may be different material types having different fireresistance characteristics. In various embodiments, bundle jacket 12 isformed from a first extrudable polymer material, and subunit jackets 22are formed from second extrudable polymer material that is differentfrom the first extrudable polymer material. In various embodiments,bundle jacket 12 is formed from a first polyvinyl chloride (PVC)material and subunit jacket 22 is formed from a second PVC material thatis different from the first PVC material. In a specific embodiment,bundle jacket 12 is formed from a polymer material that includes littleor no fire resistant filler materials, and subunit jackets 22 are formedfrom a polymer material that does include fire resistant fillermaterials. In a specific embodiment, bundle jacket 12 includes a smokereducing additive, and in a specific embodiment, bundle jacket 12 isformed from a low smoke zero halogen (LSZH) material.

In various embodiments, bundle 10 is a fire resistant bundle of opticalfiber cables suitable for indoor use. In various embodiments, bundle 10includes materials and is designed to pass the plenum burn test (NFPA262) and/or the riser burn test (UL1666). In another embodiment, bundle10 is a fire-resistant, non-corrosive cable (IEC 60332 3). In variousembodiments, optical fibers 28 include an outer protective coating, suchas UV-cured urethane acrylate materials, that act to protect the innerglass fiber. However, these outer coating materials may generatesignificant heat when exposed to fire such that as the optical fibercount and optical fiber density of a particular cable increase, the burnresistance of the bundle 10 tends to decrease. However, in variousembodiments, by providing subunits 20 having fire resistant subunitjackets surrounding groups of optical fibers 28, bundle 10 isspecifically structured to provide a relatively high fiber count, highfiber density cable while still maintaining satisfactory burn resistancecharacteristics.

In various embodiments, subunit jackets 22 are formed from an extrudablepolymer material that includes one or more material, additive orcomponent embedded in the polymer material that provides fire resistantcharacteristics such as relatively low heat generation, low heatpropagation, low flame propagation, and/or low smoke production. Invarious embodiments, the fire resistant material may include anintumescent material additive embedded in the polymer material. In otherembodiments, the fire resistant material includes a non-intumescent fireresistant material embedded in the polymer material, such as a metalhydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, etc., that produceswater in the presence of heat/fire which slows or limits heat transferalong the length of subunit 20.

In various embodiments, subunit jacket 22 may include particles ofintumescent material embedded in the material of the subunit jackets 22forming an intumescent layer. In this embodiment, as heat is transferredthrough subunit jackets 22, the intumescent material expands blockingair flow through the bore of the respective subunit jacket 22. Theintumescent material also forms a char layer that has low heatconductivity further limiting heat penetration into the middle of thecable. In various embodiments, the intumescent material may includesodium silicates, graphite or one or more of the Exolit materialsavailable from Clariant. In various embodiments, the fire resistantmaterial of subunit jacket 22 may be a fire resistant polyethylene,polypropylene, PVC, or any suitable fire resistant polymer material usedin optical fiber cable construction.

In various embodiments, the difference between fire resistant componentsin the materials of bundle jacket 12 and subunit jacket 22 results in anoptical fiber bundle in which the exterior layer, bundle jacket 12, hasa low limiting oxygen index (LOI), and the inner layers, e.g. subunitjackets 22, have a higher LOI than bundle jacket 12. In various,embodiments, subunit jackets 22 have an LOI greater than 40% and morespecifically greater than 50%, and bundle jackets 12 have an LOI lessthan 40% and more specifically less than 30%. In certain embodiments,the fire resistant material of subunit jacket 22 may be a highly-filledpolymer material with a LOI of 50% or higher, and bundle jacket 12 maybe formed from a less highly-filled polymer material with an LOI of 30%or less. In some embodiments, both bundle jacket 12 and subunit jacket22 may be formed from materials with relatively low fire resistance, andin such embodiments, bundle 10 may utilize embedded intumescentmaterials, fire retardant tapes, etc. to provide the desired fireresistant properties. In such embodiments, bundle 10 may include a fireretardant tape, such as mica tape, wrapped around and outside ofsubunits 20.

In various embodiments, by using an extrudable polymer material forbundle jacket 12, bundle jacket 12 may be extruded around subunits 20during formation of bundle 10. Thus, it is believed that use ofextrusion to bundle subunits 20 provides a fast and efficient way toaggregate subunits 20 into a bundle for use in a network installation ordata center as compared to assemblies that use a mesh outer layer toaggregate subunits 20 into a bundle. In particular embodiments,extrusion of bundle jacket 12 around subunits 20 may allow forproduction bundle 10 at speeds between at least 30 to 50 meters perminute.

FIG. 3 shows a cable assembly 40 formed from bundle 10 after subunits 20have been accessed through bundle jacket 12 and prior to connection todatacenter equipment. As shown, to secure the access point to subunits20, a structure 42 is coupled to bundle jacket 12 at the point at whichsubunits 20 exit the opened bundle jacket 12. Fiber optic connectors 44are shown coupled to ends of each subunits 20. In various embodiments,both ends (e.g., both upstream and downstream ends) of subunits 20 areterminated in connectors 44 facilitating interconnection of data centerequipment using bundle 10. In general, each fiber optic connector 44 iscoupled to optical fibers 28 of the subunit 20 to which it is attached,and connector 44 facilitates connection of optical fibers 28 to thevarious datacenter equipment that bundle 10 services. Accordingly, inthe embodiment shown, connector 44 is an eight fiber connectorconfigured to communicate signals from each of the eight optical fibersof the respective subunit 20. In particular embodiments, bundle 10 maybe used for installations in which bundle 10 is placed by hand into asupporting or guide structure such as a cable tray.

As shown in FIG. 4, bundle 10 may incorporate one or more tensilestrength elements, such as elongate metal rods, glass reinforced plasticrods or aramid yarn strands. In accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure, tensile strength elements 13 may be provided in channel 16.For example, a plurality of tensile strength elements 13 may becentrally located in channel 16 and/or dispersed throughout channel 16,such as between the subunits 20. In accordance with yet other aspects ofthe present disclosure, each subunit 20 may include at least one subunitstrength member 23 located within subunit passage 26.

As also illustrated in FIG. 4, the bundle jacket 12 may have a wallthickness that is between 20% and 150% of the thickness of the subunitjackets 22, which may be in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm, for example.Furthermore, the thin jacket may be drawn down tight against thesubunits 20 to hold the subunits 20 together as a cohesive bundle ofsubunits. In this embodiment, because the subunits 20 are bundledtightly together, the bundled subunits 20 act as a unit, providing bothstrength and robustness to the cable. For example, crush loads are notcarried by the outer jacket like a conventional cable but the loads aredistributed among the subunits that are acting in unity. The embodimentshown in FIG. 4 couples the subunit jackets 22 to the bundle jacket 12.The increased coupling between subunits 20 and the bundle jacket 12provides a more robust cable that can survive harsher installationhandling.

To provide the tight coupling described above, a vacuum may be appliedto the extrusion line to cause the bundle jacket 12 to be pulled downtightly against the subunits 20 of the bundle 10. In accordance withaspects of the present disclosure, there is sometimes a tendency for thebundle jacket 12 to tack or stick to the subunit jackets 12. Opticalattenuation may occur in the cable when the bundle jacket 12 sticks tothe subunit jackets 22 because the contraction force of the bundlejacket 12 as it cools will buckle the subunit that is stuck to it.Conventional methods to overcome this tendency of the bundle jacket 12to tack or stick to the subunit jackets 22 is to add a layer of talcbetween the subunits 20 and the bundle jacket 12 to prevent the jacket12 from sticking to the subunits. However, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure, the bundle jacket 12 is made to have a lowerstrength than the subunit jacket 22 so that as the bundle jacket 12cools, the bundle jacket 12 does not have the strength to buckle any ofthe subunits 20 that may have tacked to the bundle jacket 12.

In various embodiments, subunits 20 can include a wide variety ofoptical fibers including multi-mode fibers, single mode fibers, bendinsensitive fibers, etc. In various embodiments, bundle jacket 12 andsubunit jacket 22 may be formed from a variety of materials used incable manufacturing, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC),polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), nylon, polypropylene, polyester orpolycarbonate and their copolymers. In addition, the material of bundlejacket 12 and subunit jacket 22 may include small quantities of othermaterials or fillers that provide different properties to the materialof bundle jacket 12. For example, the material of bundle jacket 12 mayinclude materials that provide for coloring, UV/light blocking (e.g.,carbon black), fire resistance as discussed above, etc.

While the specific cable embodiments discussed herein and shown in thefigures relate primarily to bundles and subunits that have asubstantially circular cross-sectional shape defining substantiallycylindrical internal bores, in other embodiments, the bundles andsubunits discussed herein may have any number of cross-sectional shapes.For example, in various embodiments, bundle jacket 12 and subunit jacket22 may have an oval, elliptical, square, rectangular, triangular orother cross-sectional shape. In such embodiments, the passage or lumenof the bundle jacket 12 and subunit jacket 22 may be the same shape asor a different shape than the shape of bundle jacket 12 and subunitjacket 22, respectively. In some embodiments, bundle jacket 12 andsubunit jacket 22 may define more than one channel or passage. In suchembodiments, the multiple channels may be of the same size and shape aseach other or may each have different sizes or shapes.

The optical transmission elements discussed herein include opticalfibers that may be flexible, transparent optical fibers made of glass orplastic. The fibers may function as a waveguide to transmit lightbetween the two ends of the optical fiber. Optical fibers may include atransparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material with alower index of refraction. Light may be kept in the core by totalinternal reflection. Glass optical fibers may comprise silica, but someother materials such as fluorozirconate, fluoroaluminate andchalcogenide glasses, as well as crystalline materials such as sapphire,may be used. The light may be guided down the core of the optical fibersby an optical cladding with a lower refractive index that traps light inthe core through total internal reflection. The cladding may be coatedby a buffer and/or another coating(s) that protects it from moistureand/or physical damage. These coatings may be UV-cured urethane acrylatecomposite materials applied to the outside of the optical fiber duringthe drawing process. The coatings may protect the strands of glassfiber. In addition to the subunits 20 discussed herein, optical fibersubunits may include optical fiber ribbons, tight-buffered opticalfibers, optical fiber carrying buffer tubes, optical fiber micromodules,etc.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is in no way intendedthat any particular order be inferred. In addition, as used herein, thearticle “a” is intended to include one or more than one component orelement, and is not intended to be construed as meaning only one.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the disclosed embodiments. Since modifications,combinations, sub-combinations and variations of the disclosedembodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the embodimentsmay occur to persons skilled in the art, the disclosed embodimentsshould be construed to include everything within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical communication cable bundle comprising:a bundle jacket including an inner surface defining a bundle passage andan outer surface defining an exterior surface of the cable bundle; and aplurality of optical fiber subunits located within the bundle passageand surrounded by the bundle jacket, each optical fiber subunitcomprising: a subunit jacket defining a subunit passage; and a pluralityof optical fibers located with the subunit passage; wherein a thicknessof the bundle jacket is less than a thickness of each of the subunitjackets and the bundle jacket is extruded tight around the subunitjackets to couple the subunits and the bundle jacket.
 2. The opticalcommunication cable bundle of claim 1, wherein the thickness of thebundle jacket is less than 70% of the thickness of the subunit jackets.3. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 1, wherein thethickness of the bundle jacket is between 0.05 mm and 0.35 mm, and thethickness of each of the subunit jackets is between 0.25 mm and 0.5 mm.4. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 1, wherein eachsubunit jacket has a tensile strength and a tear strength and the bundlejacket has a tensile strength and a tear strength, wherein the tensilestrength of the bundle jacket is less than the tensile strength of thesubunit jacket, wherein the tear strength of the bundle jacket is lessthan the tear strength of the subunit jacket.
 5. The opticalcommunication cable bundle of claim 4, wherein the tensile strength ofthe bundle jacket is less than 80% of the tensile strength of thesubunit jacket.
 6. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 4,wherein the tensile strength of the bundle jacket is less than 2000 psiand the tensile strength of the subunit jacket is greater than 2200 psi.7. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 1, wherein each ofthe subunit jackets is formed from a first extrudable polymer materialthat includes a fire resistant material having an oxygen limiting indexof greater than 40%, wherein the bundle jacket is formed from a secondextrudable polymer material having an oxygen limiting index of less than40%.
 8. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 7, wherein thesecond extrudable polymer material of the bundle jacket includes a smokereducing material.
 9. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 7,wherein the second extrudable polymer material of the bundle jacket is aPVC material and the first extrudable polymer material of the subunitjacket is a PVC material.
 10. The optical communication cable bundle ofclaim 1, further comprising at least four optical fiber subunits,wherein each optical fiber subunit includes at least eight opticalfibers.
 11. The optical communication cable bundle of claim 10, whereineach subunit includes the same number of optical fibers.
 12. A method ofmanufacturing an optical communication cable bundle comprising:extruding an outermost bundle layer around a plurality of optical fibersubunits, wherein each optical fiber subunit comprising: a subunitjacket defining a subunit passage, the subunit jacket formed from asecond polymer material different from the first polymer material; and aplurality of optical fibers located with the subunit passage; applying avacuum pressure during extrusion to a bundle passage of the bundle layerto draw an inner surface of the bundle layer tight against the subunitjackets of the plurality of optical fiber subunits, wherein each subunitjacket has a tensile strength and a tear strength and the outermostbundle layer has a tensile strength and a tear strength, wherein thetensile strength of the outermost bundle layer is less than the tensilestrength of the subunit jacket, wherein the tear strength of theoutermost bundle layer is less than the tear strength of the subunitjacket.
 13. The method of manufacturing an optical communication cablebundle of claim 12, wherein a thickness of the outermost bundle layer isless than 70% of a thickness of the subunit jacket, and wherein thetensile strength of the outermost bundle layer is less than 80% of thetensile strength of the subunit jacket.
 14. The method of manufacturingan optical communication cable bundle of claim 13, wherein the thicknessof the outermost bundle layer is between 0.05 mm and 0.35 mm, and thethickness of the subunit jacket is between 0.25 mm and 0.5 mm, andfurther wherein the tensile strength of the outermost bundle layer isless than 2000 psi and the tensile strength of the subunit jacket isgreater than 2200 psi.
 15. The method of manufacturing an opticalcommunication cable bundle of claim 14, further comprising: forming eachof the subunit jackets from a first extrudable polymer material andforming the bundle jacket from a second extrudable polymer material,wherein the first extrudable polymer material includes a fire resistantmaterial having an oxygen limiting index of greater than 40%, whereinthe second extrudable polymer material has an oxygen limiting index ofless than 40%.
 16. The method of manufacturing an optical communicationcable bundle of claim 15, wherein the second polymer material includes asmoke reducing material.